This invention relates to an improvement in a dispensing carton, and more particularly, to an improvement in a carton for dispensing household wrapping material such as polymeric film or aluminum foil.
Cartons for dispensing household wrapping materials are well known and are designed to store the supplied roll of wrapping material when not in use, enable easy removal of the wrapping material through an opening provided in the carton, and permit easy tearing of the wrapping material along a cutting edge or cutting bar provided on the carton. Early designs of such cartons placed the cutting edge along the aperture from which the wrapping material was withdrawn from the carton. It was soon found, however, that this procedure was not satisfactory since the leading edge of the wrapping material would retract into the carton after a sheet of material had been withdrawn and severed along the cutting edge. When one desired to withdraw additional wrapping material, it was necessary to open the carton and to locate the leading edge of the wrap before the operation of the carton could be restored. This procedure became increasingly more troublesome when the carton was used to store and dispense wrapping material made from polymeric films since many of these films display cling characteristics and, upon retraction into the carton, the leading edge of the wrap may cling to the remainder of the supply roll making location of the leading edge and separation thereof from the roll extremely difficult.
In order to remedy these difficiences, the cutting edge or cutting bar provided on the carton was positioned at a point remote from the aperture through which the wrap was withdrawn from the carton, for example, at the corner of the carton adjacent to the aperture. In this manner, after a sheet of the wrapping material was withdrawn and severed on the cutting edge, the leading edge and a length of the remainder of the roll remains exposed on the exterior of the carton and is ready to be grasped when it is next desired to withdraw and sever a sheet of the wrapping material. It was found, however, that even when the leading edge of the roll was so exposed, there still was a tendency of the leading edge to retract into the carton after repreated handling. In addition, the leading edge, which was exposed from the carton, was free to wrinkle or fold upon itself in a manner which is undesirable from an appearance standpoint and which is bothersome when the sheet material possesses cling characteristics and does not readily return to the form of a straight leading edge.
Furthermore, it was also found that during use of the aforementioned cartons, if the supply roll was not positively held during the severing operation the wrapping material would slide across the cutting bar during cutting of the wrap, rendering cutting and tearing of the wrap from the roll more difficult.
Accordingly, various solutions have been proposed in the prior art to positively hold the wrapping material during cutting across the cutter bar and to prevent the wrapping material from retracting into the carton after cut. One such solution is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,549,066 wherein an outer or exterior front wall of the dispensing carton is provided with adhesive spots 30 which adhere to the wrapping sheet disposed over the cutting bar prior to tearing. Once a length of the sheet is torn and removed, the leading edge of the sheet will cling to the outer exterior surface containing the adhesive spots and not retract into the carton. While such an arrangement may prove successful in the dispensing and tearing of polymeric films, the types of adhesive spots which will permit easy removal of the film must vary with the type of wrap used, e.g., a different adhesive must be provided for metal films such as aluminum foil.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,717,613 and 2,713,939 offer the solution of providing a hinged panel on the rear or front exterior wall of the dispensing carton which may be grasped by the fingers to exert pressure on the roll of material within the dispensing carton, thereby holding the same steady while it is torn along a serrated edge. The problem with this arrangement is that the fingers come close to the cutting bar and serrated edge and can be accdently cut.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,098,594; 3,173,610; 3,229,876; and 3,565,307 each disclose a dispensing carton including a front wall having at least one arresting tab formed by cutting away material from the top edge of the front wall on either side of the tab. Sheet material is caused to be sandwiched between the tab and a lid flap of the carton tucked entirely behind the front wall to retain the sheet material in place while it is being torn. However, the positioning of the front flap behind the arresting tab and front wall after withdrawal of a length of the wrapping material makes utilization of such a carton awkward.